Managing Ingrown Toenails in the Summer Heat

Jul 10, 2025

Hot weather already makes feet prone to swelling, sweating, and irritation, but if you’re also dealing with an ingrown toenail, it can quickly become a painful and potentially risky combination.

Here’s why it’s important to think twice before squeezing your feet into shoes during a heatwave if you’ve got an ingrown toenail:

1. Heat = Swelling = More Pressure

In the heat, your feet naturally swell. This means your shoe presses more tightly against the affected toe. The result? More pain, more redness, and more inflammation. It can even cause the nail to dig deeper into the skin.

2. Sweaty Feet Invite Infection

Hot temperatures mean more sweating, especially inside shoes. Warm, moist environments are ideal for bacteria and fungi — which can quickly lead to infection around the ingrown nail.

3. Restricted Airflow Slows Healing

Wearing tight or closed-toe shoes limits air circulation. Without airflow, the area around your ingrown toenail stays damp and warm, making it harder for your skin to heal.

4. Friction Makes Things Worse

Every step you take in a shoe that rubs against the ingrown nail area causes tiny traumas to the skin. This can lead to further inflammation or even pus formation — and that’s when things get really uncomfortable.

5. It Could Prolong the Problem

By forcing your feet into tight or uncomfortable shoes, you could delay healing and potentially make your condition worse — turning what could have been a minor issue into something that requires a procedure or antibiotics.

What You Can Do Instead:

Choose open-toe sandals if possible to reduce pressure.
Avoid tight or narrow shoes that push the toe.
Soak your feet daily in warm salty water to reduce inflammation.
Keep the area clean and dry as much as possible.
See a podiatrist if pain, swelling, or redness persists — it could be infected.

At Foot Corner in Ashford, Surrey, our expert podiatrists regularly treat ingrown toenails and can help ease your pain quickly and safely — especially in summer when you need to stay on your feet and feeling cool.